Theatre_Regulation_Act_1605
Act to Restrain Abuses of Players
1606 English censorship law
The Act to Restrain Abuses of Players (1606) was a censorship law passed by the English Parliament, and introduced fines for plays which 'jestingly or profanely' used the names of God or Jesus. Plays written after 1606 avoided such terms as a consequence of the act, and new editions of older plays removed profane words.[1] Some scholars have argued that the Act had an important influence on the revision and publication of the plays of William Shakespeare.[2]